Ferguson: Van Persie 'could have been killed'

Perfect for Patrice – Patrice Evra gave Manchester United a 16th minute lead at Swansea after heading home Robin van Persie's corner.

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Stylish Swans hold United10 photos

Celebration time – Evra races away to celebrate with teammate Michael Carrick in hot pursuit as the league leaders make the perfect start in Wales.

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Stylish Swans hold United10 photos

Nice to Michu – Michu's 13th league goal of the season ensured Swansea grabbed a point from a pulsating contest. The Spaniard, who cost $3.2 million from Rayo Vallecano, has impressed since his arrival in the Premier League in July.

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Stylish Swans hold United10 photos

Red hot clash – Ashley Williams and United's van Persie clash after the Swansea defender had kicked the ball against the Dutchman while he was on the floor. United manager Alex Ferguson was left fuming at Williams and said: "The Van Persie situation you can clearly see that he could have been killed."

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Stylish Swans hold United10 photos

Fuming Fergie – Ferguson was left raging after seeing van Persie struck by the ball and vented his fury after the contest. He said: "It was absolutely deliberate. The whistle has gone, the game has stopped and he has done that right in front of the referee, he could have killed the lad. It was a disgraceful act by the player, he should banned for a long time."

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Towering Torres – Fernando Torres headed Chelsea in front against Aston Villa with his 14th goal of the season. The Spaniard's goalscoring form has been transformed since the arrival of new interim manager Rafa Benitez. Chelsea crushed Villa 8-0 to inflict the worst ever top-flight defeat on the visiting club.

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Lethal Luiz – David Luiz doubled Chelsea's lead on 29 minutes with a spectacular free-kick as Chelsea cruised past a young Villa side at Stamford Bridge.

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Stylish Swans hold United10 photos

Easy for Ivanovic – Branislav Ivanovic grabbed his fourth league goal of the season to give Chelsea a three-goal lead at the break. The Serbia defender, who also scored at Leeds in midweek, headed home from close-range to wrap up the game after just 34 minutes.

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Lampard loving life – Frank Lampard became Chelsea's all-time leading scorer in top-flight football after hitting his 130th goal on his 500th league start. Lampard's drive gave the home side a 4-0 lead as Villa began to wilt.

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Rampant Ramires – Ramires came off the bench to score twice as Chelsea eventually declared on eight. It could have been worse for Villa as Lucas Piazon missed a penalty. Eden Hazard and Oscar were also on target.

Story highlights

Dutch striker hit in head with ball while on the ground after Ashley Williams kicked ball away

Patrice Evra's goal canceled out by Michu's strike as United held 1-1 by Swansea

Chelsea crushes Aston Villa 8-0 to move into third position in English Premier League

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was left raging after claiming Robin van Persie "could have been killed" following an altercation with Swansea's Ashley Williams.

Ferguson, whose side moved four points clear at the top of the English Premier League table following Sunday's 1-1 draw, accused Williams of deliberately kicking the ball at the striker's head while he lay on the ground.

Van Persie and Williams squared up to each other following the incident as both sets of players tried to break up the confrontation.

Referee Michael Oliver booked both men, but Ferguson wants the Football Association to take action against the Wales defender.

"The Van Persie situation you can clearly see that he could have been killed," Ferguson said on Sky Sports News.

Schmeichel's Champions League tips 5 photos

Schmeichel's Champions League tips5 photos

Great Dane – In the absence of suspended skipper Roy Keane, Peter Schmeichel captained Manchester United to European Champions League glory in 1999. United trailed Bayern Munich 1-0 heading into the 90th minute, but stunned the Germans by scoring twice in a matter of minutes to seal a famous 2-1 success. The win completed an historic Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup treble.

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Schmeichel's Champions League tips5 photos

Dortmund's destiny? – Schmeichel is backing Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund to pull off a shock and lift the Champions League for the second time in their history. The German title winners have been lauded for topping a group which contained Real Madrid, Manchester City and Ajax.

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Magical Messi – Lionel Messi has been unstoppable in 2012, scoring a record 90 goals so far this calendar year. Barcelona will be looking to win the Champions League for the fourth time in seven years.

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Schmeichel's Champions League tips5 photos

No way Jose? – Jose Mourinho has already won the Champions League with two different clubs -- Inter Milan and Porto. Despite an indifferent start to the Spanish league season, Schmeichel is confident Mourinho has the ability to lead Real Madrid to a landmark 10th European triumph.

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A United front – Manchester United sit top of the English Premier League as the season approaches its halfway point, but Alex Ferguson's team has leaked goals all season. Schmeichel thinks his old club will need defender Nemanja Vidic to return to his top form if United are to stand any chance of reaching May's Wembley final.

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Sculpting football icons 10 photos

Sculpting football icons10 photos

Fellow Scots – Like Alex Ferguson, sculptor Philip Jackson was born in Scotland. Here he is pictured working on The Bomber Command Memorial Sculpture, which is situated in London's Green Park, and was unveiled by the Queen in June.

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England legend Moore – Jackson was also the artist who created the statue of former England captain Bobby Moore, which is located at Wembley Stadium. The statue, standing six meters in height and weighing approximately two tons, commemorates when Moore captained England to World Cup glory in 1966.

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Man Utd's "Holy Trinity" – The Alex Ferguson sculpture is the third Manchester United piece Jackson has produced. His statue of George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, which stands outside Old Trafford, depicts three of the club's greatest players.

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Busby in bronze – Jackson's first Manchester United related sculpture depicted former manager Matt Busby, who was a key figure in creating the club's attacking philosophy of football which Ferguson has helped maintain.

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Ferguson artwork – Jackson's bronze scultpture of Ferguson is nine foot in height. It will be unveiled ahead of United's home game against Queens Park Rangers on November 23.

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Bobby Robson remembered – A number of other English clubs have commissioned artworks to remember former managers, notably Bobby Robson, who managed a number of clubs including Ipswich Town, Barcelona and Newcastle United as well as England. This statue of Robson is outside Newcastle United's St James' Park.

Linesman cast – It is not just managers and players who have been immortalized in sculpture form. In Baku, Azerbaijan, there is a statue of the 1966 World Cup final linesman Tofig Bahramov outside the Tofig Bahramov stadium. Here former West Germany goalkeeper Hans Tilkowski and former England striker Sir Geoff Hurst are pictured standing next to the the Bahramov statue in June 2011.

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Zizou's bronze butt – The moment French football superstar Zinedine Zidane headbutted Italy's Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final has been immortalized in a five meter bronze statue. The statue, positioned outside of Paris' Pompidou Museum, is the work of Algerian-born artist Adel Abdessemed.

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Tribute to singer Jackson – More unusually in April 2011, Fulham chairman Mohamed Al Fayed unveiled a statue in tribute to singer Michael Jackson, who died in 2009, outside the English Premier League club's Craven Cottage ground.

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Lionel Messi's record year 9 photos

Lionel Messi's record year9 photos

Messi beats Muller – Lionel Messi celebrates after matching Gerd Muller's record of 85 goals in a calendar year, netting in the 16th minute of Barcelona's match against Real Betis in December 2012. Just nine minutes later the Argentina star passed the German's 1972 milestone.

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Lionel Messi's record year9 photos

Time to spare – Messi passed Muller with three more possible matches to play in 2012. Then a three-time world player of the year, he went on to win a record fourth Ballon d'Or in January,

Record in doubt – Messi made a quick recovery to be fit for the Betis game, having been injured after coming on as a substitute during a Champions League match against Benfica.

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Lionel Messi's record year9 photos

Barca's best – Messi enjoyed a stellar 2012. With a hat-trick against Grenada in March, he equaled and broke the all-time goalscoring record for Barcelona in official matches of 232 set by Cesar Rodriguez.

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Lionel Messi's record year9 photos

Chasing Muller – A hat-trick against Malaga in May took Messi to 68 goals for the 2011-12 season, edging him past the record for goals in a European season set by Bayern Munich's Muller in 1972-73.

For club and country – Messi also had a standout year for the Argentina national team. He scored 12 goals for his country in 2012, including a hat-trick against archrivals Brazil in June.

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El Clasico – Messi became Barca's all-time leading goalscorer in "El Clasico" matches against Real Madrid in August 2012. His free-kick in that match was his 15th in the fixture against Barca's archrivals.

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"The FA has got to look into it regardless that he has been given a yellow card.

"I tried to clear the ball it hit him on the head," he said. "I was trying to clear the ball.

"He was obviously a bit angry about that. It was much ado about nothing."

Patrice Evra's 16th-minute header from a Van Persie corner had given United the lead before Michu equalized with his 13th Premier League goal of the season -- which put the Spaniard one clear of Van Persie as the leading scorer.

Meanwhile, Chelsea went goal crazy by crushing Aston Villa 8-0 at Stamford Bridge to move up into third position.

Striker Fernando Torres headed the home side ahead after just three minutes -- his 14th in all competitions this season, and seventh in the league -- before converted midfielder David Luiz curled home an exquisite free-kick.

Defender Branislav Ivanovic headed a third before the break as Chelsea ran riot against a team that had been unbeaten for five matches following a poor start to the season.

Any thoughts of Rafa Benitez's men easing up after the interval were soon extinguished when veteran midfielder Frank Lampard grabbed a fourth.

That strike established him as the club's leading goalscorer in the top flight as he marked his 500th Premier League start with his 130th goal.